Eight Days of Halloween
by Cannibalistic Skittles
Summary: A book. It was a book that started it. Just another mystery novel, read on Halloween. What could have gone wrong?
1. Day 0

Day 0

They say some days are magical.

The different days, the strange ones, where something seems off, but not quite, and oh, you're just being silly.

When the light cuts quick through the cold, leaving the world around mirrored and sharp.

When the wind blows and blows, and walking outside is like swimming, and your hair stands on end, prickling upward, and you're not afraid, no.

They say some days are magical.

_And they don't know how right they are._

_---_

Yes everyone; I'm starting a new series. Mini-series, I guess. No, I haven't forgotten 'Unfair'. I've run into some technical difficulties; if you want to help, I'll gladly tell the situation. *Hinthint*

My goal is to write a chapter a day, up to Halloween. Expect one tomorrow. (No, for serious this time. No. Really.)


	2. Day 1

Day 1

_Tip._

_Toe._

_Tip._

_Toe._

_Creeeak._

Sabrina winced; they really needed to get that step fixed. The last thing she needed right now was for somebody to shatter the stillness of the moment.

"Hey Sabrina," called a familiar voice.

Peering around the wall where the stairs turned, she could see her younger sister with her body stretched against the length of the couch, a book held comfortably in her hands.

Walking the remainder of the length of stairs, Sabrina asked her, "What'cha reading?"  
"'Eight Days of Halloween'. It's this spooky book I got. It's written by the same person who did 'Poison Kiss' 1. It's really good," she added.

"Yeah? How so?" Sabrina questioned.

They discussed the benefits of a closed vs. open-ended books with the air of those who are at ease in their surroundings for several moments, before their conversation was ended by a voice.

"Good morning, _lieblings_," they heard.

Granny Relda was descending the stairs. Her usual cheery straw hat was replaced by a black one, with a fresh black rose adorning the center instead of a sunflower appliqué2. A net veil hung over the sides, stopping just above her mouth.

Her dress was black to match; a silver cobweb design shone faintly, and magiced spiders ran across the fabric occasionally.

Somehow, she managed to bring a touch of sunshine into dark ensemble. It was probably in the smile.

"Good morning, Granny," the Grimm girls chorused.

"Oh! Lieblings, I wanted to ask you something."

She hurried into their kitchen, the slight sound of china plates scraping together and something frying in grease being heard as she bustled about the kitchen, reemerging a moment later with a platter.

"_Lieblings_, would you like some sausage?

They were bright orange. A jack-o'-lantern face marked in black resided in the center.

Each Grimm sister reached out to try one; Sabrina with some hesitation (she may have gotten more used to her Granny's odd cooking, but that didn't mean she always _liked_ it), and Daphne with none of her sister's reservations.

"This is... pretty good," Sabrina said, surprised.

"_Mmm_! It tastes like pumpkins!" Daphne exclaimed.

Granny Relda chuckled, pleased to see _both_ of her grandchildren enjoying her cooking. She headed back to make more, leaving several pieces with Sabrina and Daphne.

The sound of grease had a miracle effect; within minutes, Puck came clambering down the stairs.

"Good morning, Puck," Daphne greeted amiably.

He ignored her, choosing instead to follow the noise.

They could hear plates clattering in the kitchen before Puck came out, clutching a plate piled high with orange sausage. Several orange shreds could be seen poking out of his mouth as well.

He wandered over to the couch, sitting on Daphne's legs before she had a chance to pull them away.

She, ever the peacemaker, chose to overlook this. It didn't hurt, so what was the use?

"Hey Marshmallow. What're you reading?" He asked. They could see masticated pieces of food in his mouth as he did so.

"It's a Halloween book. It's kind of a horror/suspense one." She told him, offering him the book as evidence.

"Does it have blood?" He inquired.

"No."

"Gore?"

"No."

"Death

"No."

"Pff. What use is it then?" He scoffed, tossing the book back to her and turning his attention instead to his food.

Sabrina looked closer at the page Daphne was reading. Her eyes fixed on a passage.

Puck, who had not been listening to the conversation, fixed on Sabrina's curious tone. "What? Where? Let me see!" He said, snatching the book from Daphne's fingers.

"Hey!" she cried, " let me see!" Prying the book away from the fairy, she scrutinized the page before saying, "they're trying out a magic spell… trying to find a way to stop the villain…"

"Looks like a bunch of mumbo-jumbo to me," Puck said. "'_Otoko ninyo gara'me no_…'" he quoted.

"'_Jinsupei ikirei aramen a'do_…'" Sabrina continued.

"_'Jinjunjei yekut'se boku'ru de;_

_aramen a'kame wo_.'" Daphne finished.

They waited a moment with the only noise the faint, content humming of Granny and sizzling grease.

Nothing happened.

After a long pause, Sabrina said, "I'll admit, that was a bit anticlimactic."

"Well," Daphne said with a shrug, "it's just a book."

After another minute of silence, Daphne said "…Maybe we should start getting ready?"

-~-~-~-~-~-~

Sabrina wasn't sure how Daphne had talked her into this.

It was…

…_Shimmering_.

'It' was a dress. That alone was reason to make Sabrina loathe it, but _this_ dress…

It was blue, and the skirt was multi-layered, like an upside-down rose. The top layer of the skirt was a slightly thinner material, lightweight and iridescent.

It had thin straps for sleeves (spaghetti straps), and a small jacket for modesty, made of the same material as the outer layer of the skirt3.

It sparkled and it glittered throughout.

Then there were The Shoes.

(Oh, those Shoes…)

The Shoes were a pale, translucent blue, with tinted glass roses crawling up the heel on a vine, like ivy to a trellis.

It was a feat just to keep from tripping down the stairs and decapitating herself.

Daphne ordered it online. Sabrina hadn't seen what it looked like, and relied on her

By the time she had a chance to actually see the costume, it was too late to get another.

Daphne consoled her by saying "at least it isn't pink!"

It was the same as telling someone "at least you're not on fire!"

[She had half a mind to just stay home. (Then again, she didn't trust Puck to watch Daphne, and if she stayed home, Daphne would get kidnapped or something.)]

Sabrina had drawn the line at Daphne's offers to do her hair. Sabrina's gold locks were not gelled, moussed, or sprayed in any way. They were held back by a relatively simple silver and blue clip. She wore a necklace with a silver chain. A small blue bottle, half the size of her thumb, hung from it.

The blue made her eyes look larger, and the silver provided contrast to her hair, making it stand out, creating a sort of halo around her face.

All in all, the effect was rather luminous.

Daphne had decided to break away from the Princess theme this year. She was going as a character from a comic book, Purin4, who seemed to have the ability to match her in enthusiasm.

She ordered this costume online as well, and added orange and goldenrod-fringed sleeves. She made sure to include the accessories such as Purin's ears and tail, and the 'Pudding Rings' used as weapons. Daphne 'fluffed' her short hair out to look the part as well.

And Puck?

Puck was a pirate.

…(*giggle*)

Black jacket, black pants that stopped in the middle of his calf, slightly poofed, black pirate hat—without the skull and crossbones, however. He wore no eye patch and no wooden leg.

His trusty wooden sword hung by his side, of course.

And then they were ready.

---~~~---~~~

The Halloween was rather uneventful.

They got lots of candy, they ran into several who gave apples and toothpaste.

At one house, they received full-sized candy bars and small toys.

Sabrina was nearly chewed to death by a dog that apparently had not had the concept of Halloween explained to it.

Puck knocked a poor girl over, spilling her candy, and knocking her glasses off her face.

Sabrina only cracked her head on the ground twice.

Granny checked over their candy, and took the apples to examine, and Puck scarfed down the majority of his candy haul.

'And', thought Sabrina drowsily, 'it really was fun…' and sleep claimed her.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_

1 Shameless self-plug, FTW.

2 Thank you, wise spell-check.

3 Think I've said skirt enough times? …Skirt.

4 From Tokyo Mew Mew. Also known as Kiki or Pudding. (Purin means pudding.) I recommend looking it up—add Tokyo Mew Mew to it, just to make sure you don't get a picture of flan or pudding pops.

So… I had every intention of posting a chapter every day. I forgot, however, that the first chapter would take the most amount of time. I had a very busy Saturday and a not-quite-as-busy-but-still-considerably-busy Sunday.

This means that I am behind by four days. Four days, four chapters.

Oh joy, oh rapture.

Yes, the end of this one is not detailed. There is a reason for that.

Feel free to flame.


	3. Day 2

Day 2

_Tip._

_Toe._

_Tip._

_Toe._

_Creeeak._

Sabrina winced; they still needed to get that step fixed. The last thing she needed right now was for somebody to shatter the stillness of the moment.

"Hey Sabrina," called a familiar voice.

Peering around the wall where the stairs turned, she could see her younger sister with her body stretched against the length of the couch, a book held comfortably in her hands.

Walking the remainder of the length of stairs, Sabrina laughed and asked her, "Still reading that book?"  
Daphne grinned back in response "I didn't get to finish it yesterday!"

"Alright then. Tell me what's new!"

Daphne happily obliged, and she told her sister of the new plot twists and the impending romance between the two main characters. Their conversation was ended by a voice.

"Good morning, _lieblings_," they heard.

Granny Relda was descending the stairs. She wore an outfit identical to the one she had worn the day before.

"Good morning, Granny," the Grimm girls chorused.

"You're wearing that again?" Sabrina asked.

Relda looked puzzled; "I don't believe I've ever worn this before, I just made this."

"Oh, it looks like the one from yesterday, that's all," Sabrina said.

Granny still looked puzzled, but appeared to let the subject drop.

"Oh, yes! Lieblings, I wanted to ask you something."

She hurried into their kitchen, the slight sound of china plates scraping together and something frying in grease being heard as she bustled about the kitchen, reemerging a moment later with a platter.

"_Lieblings_, would you like some sausage?

The same pumpkin sausages stared up at them.

"We already tried these Granny, just yesterday."

Granny Relda gave a puzzled smile before saying, "ah well, my memory isn't as good as it once was. I was meaning to save these for today but…"

By this point, Puck was rushing down the stairs.

He wandered over to the couch, snatching a few sausages from Granny Relda's plate and sitting on Daphne's legs before she had a chance to pull them away.

"Oh, girls," Granny said, "shouldn't you start getting ready?"

"Wwwwhy?" Daphne asked.

"It's Halloween, _lieblings_! Or did you forget?" She asked, not unkindly1.

Daphne and Sabrina exchanged looks.

"A-alright," Daphne choked out, grabbing Sabrina's hand

-~-~-~-~-~-~

Back upstairs.

Back into the sparkle suit.

Inside.

Outside.

Hold the bag. House to house.

Knock. Door opens. Bag gets heavier.

Numb.

She felt…numb.

This was a dream.

Had to, had to, had… to be.

(Please?)

---~~~---~~~

This Halloween was… the same.

Sabrina was too shell-shocked to avoid the same dog who had nearly chewed her to death

Puck knocked the girl in the peacock costume over again.

The trio functioned almost robotically, only going through the motions of the jovialities of the evening.

Returning to the house, Sabrina was struck by insomnia. She lay in bed stairing at the ceiling, soft pajamas gently rustling when she moved.

This day… was not right.

And something---something was wrong.

Something—

Oh…

Wait.

It was…

And she slept.

-=-=-

1 …Because every other book that I've read has that phrase.

Yes. Short. And late. Late, late, late.

You may beat me with a stick now.

Maah, I have curlers warming my head as I type.

I'll write more tonight if I have the time. I

I'll probably be inspired enough…

~Skittles


	4. Day 3

Day 3

Sabrina felt…strange when she woke up. Like she was missing something.

As she watched the silver light stream through her the slats inbetween the window blinds, her mind was fast at work.

Halloween.

Then… Halloween again.

Why?

Why did it happen again?

What could have happened to do that?

What could have--?

Sabrina bolted upright. Now she remembered.

The covers were thrown off as she catapulted out of bed and out the door.

The stairs creaked loudly as she ran down them, protesting the strain.

Sure enough, Daphne sat at the couch, book in hand.

She had no comfortable, easy pose. She sat stick straight, book on her lap, head bowed down.

Her eyes seemed to ghost over the words, her fingers never turning a page.

"Daphne," Sabrina called quietly.

The girl's head snapped upwards, brown eyes fixing on Sabrina.

She was trembling.

Sabrina sat beside her, pulling her closer and offering small words of comfort.

"Why… is this happening?" she asked.

"I think I might know… can I see your book?"

Wordless, Daphne complied.

Sabrina flipped through the book until she came to the page she was looking for.

"I think it might be… this."

She turned the book so Daphne could see.

"The spell in the book? How—"

"This is the only thing I can think of. We didn't mess with magic. We didn't run into any members of The Scarlet Hand. Puck didn't piss off anyone or do anything on the scale of the Clodhopper Incident."

Daphne giggles slightly. The last one had been thrown in there in an attempt to cheer her up. It worked.

Granny Relda came downstairs then. Same outfit.

Same pumpkin sausages.

When Puck came down, he seemed strange as well.

Sabrina explained her theory to him, and he perked up a bit, enough to tease Daphne.

Granny Relda sent them up to change.

The same happened.

_~_~_~

Trick-or-treating.

The same.

Same candy, same responses.

Everything seemed to be a repeat of the last two days, as if someone was having a bit of fun watching their lives and pressing 'rewind' just before the sun rose the next day.

This time though…

Sabrina was going to test the limits.

~_~_~_~

Coming soon: Details.

I'd like to thank all you lovely people for your kind words. =D You know who you are…

Yes, it's short.

Yes, I keep skipping over the actual Halloween bits.

Yes, I realize that those are the fun parts and that you're losing interest.

It's in the next chapter.

Yes, I take critiques. If you have suggestions, tell me.

Most of all... thanks for reading.

~Skittles


End file.
